How Nova shaped magazine history
As a 1993 book chronicling the story of the pioneering women’s mag gets a timely reissue, we speak to its Art Director David Hillman about what magland can learn from the success (and failure) of Nova today
Launched in 1965, Nova burst onto the scene at a time when the closest women’s mags got to forward-thinking was documenting the latest trends in cross-stitching. Pitching itself as ‘the thinking woman’s magazine’, the fiercely feminist publication challenged magland’s status quo, opening people’s eyes to the realities of everything from sex and abortion to religious and political theory.
How Nova helped to shape the magazines of today is well documented by now. A 1993 book compiled by former art directors Harri Peccinotti and David Hillman, featuring a distinctive red lip graphic on the cover, has become a regular feature on the bookshelves of design studios over the years.
